#and like. y'know we've played this game for a while now and I was still a pretty baby player at the beginning. so i didn't really

[dabidagoose]

Oh. My god. He's a DRUID!!

[heartfullofleeches]

Miller [Streamer Yan] and Vtuber Darling that's a regular 110% human being just like them :). Darling's model is pretty average, yet cute looking, but it's their gimmick that really pulls people in.

"Ah, I'm a little thirsty. Excuse me while I drink water with my human mouth... which I have only one of."

"Do you like when I play horror games? I. Like. Them. Too. But I prefer the ones where the main character befriends the monsters at the end :)"

"Oh... Is that really what people look like instead?... I. Am full of meat too. We have so much more in common than I thought."

Quite the oddball, but their chat finds their behaviors adorable. Miller does too. They're over the moon when Darling accepts their friend requests and even more thrilled when darling mentions Miller is their first companion and streaming buddy. They've never been able to make friends before and was lonely because of it, but since they've gained a following it feels like they're never alone.

There are a few hiccups on the day Miller and Darling first stream together. Static drowns out darling's voice when they call and Miller can faintly hear what sounds like...purring? in the background. Darling apologies for the strange sounds once they're finally able to get through to Miller - their pet cat was happy they finally made a friend.

Miller is crushing hard from day one. They've never seen darling's face, but if they're half as cute as their voice they might be too far out of Miller's league. They've tried scrolling through darling's social media pages for photos of them, but all they were able to find was old selfies taken in the worst lighting imaginable... Pretty blurry too.

Darling likes Miller too. They feel as though they can trust the streamer. Trust them with anything.

"Mill...er? I. Have a confession."

"I'm all ears- Lay it on me, baby."

"Can you promise? Promise. Not to be.. Afraid?"

"Afraid? Who'd ever be scared of someone like you? You don't really scream serial killer from the conversations we've had so far."

"If that's is the case... Join the call. See. Me. I. Trust you, Miller."

Call? Oh, darling invited them to a video call. It's crazy that it's the first one after all the time, but Miller respects their privacy....a little. Miller can't see much of anything when they join in. Small, white lights greet them shrouded by the darkness of darling's room as their end connects. Looking closer, Miller realizes....

Those are eyes.

"I'm. So sorry for deceiving you.... and everyone else. Miller.... Thank you for being so kind to me. I couldn't lie to you anymore. I'm sorry. I understand. If you hate me now ...."

"Hate you?.... I'm trying to figure out when our first date is-"

"Ah?"

"You like pork chops? Steak? I remember you talking a lot about meat in earlier streams. I like a person who can really eat, y'know?"

Are they.... flirting? Darling is vaguely aware of the practice. Miller can see them right? Why are they acting so nonchalant about their appearance?

"Hm? It's still you, isn't it? A few more eyes or rows of teeth don't change the fact you're one of the chillest people I've met online. Cutest too. Even now.... So, when can we meet up?"

Miller is strange.... but Darling is strange too. They're happy they met them.

-

Miller: So you're telling me you've been this sexy monster person this entire time?

Vtuber Darling: i... suppose?

Miller: And you choose that boring ass design as your avatar?! Actually that was probably better for me personally - weeds out some of the competition.

[periprose]

Heyyy I’m literally playing through ps4 Spider-Man again 🤣!

I was wondering if I could request a ps4 fic, maybe Peter and reader have been dating for a while, and she gets hurt during the explosion and he can’t find her but she’s with may at feast with like a broken arm or something?? (She knows he’s Spider-Man) 👀🫶🏼

hey lol thanks for requesting! I'm on the first playthrough of the game myself. Basically this is set during the explosion at the election event in the game, and Peter and you are there to proudly watch Officer Davis accept his award.

/

"Hey." Peter comes up from behind you on the sidewalk, fixing wrinkles in his civilian clothes. He must've just changed.

"Hey, Parker." You nudge him. "Ready to go watch Osborn smooch up to the well-meaning audience of Manhattan?"

"Well, ready as I'll ever be." Peter takes your hand. "I'm really just there to watch Davis get his well-deserving award, y'know. Hey, didn't I tell you to stop calling me Parker?"

"Meh, you love it." You joke. "You'll always be Parker to me, even if you are my boyfriend now. It's our thing."

Peter shakes his head, but you know based on his little smile- he loves that you have a little thing just for him.

Together, you walk to the intersection in front of City Hall, where many people crowd around, waiting for Mayor Osborn and whatever speech he's about to give today. They're all dressed in Osborn themed merchandise, cheering and clapping.

You can't believe this many people care about Osborn's so-called promises to the city- you and Peter are really hoping he won't be re-elected this term after all- but people are clapping for him, and you sigh knowing that your cost of living is about to go up.

"Hey. Wipe that frown off your face. We're here to be supportive." Peter whispers from next to you in the crowd, and you nod.

"Where's Davis? Is that him?" You whisper back, pointing to an older black man up on the stage.

"Yup. You wouldn't believe it, he was so helpful in Hell's Kitchen. Dude whipped out his gun and had my back like we've been best buds for years." Peter smiles. "There's not many out there doing it like him."

"He sounds like a real treasure. I'm glad you have someone on your side." You squeeze Peter's hand, and continue to look up towards the stage in mild excitement.

You don't really care for Osborn's speech- Peter laughs about his promise to open up technology for NYC when you both know that's reserved for the elite- but you both grin when Davis, looking nervous as ever, walks up the stage to receive his award.

"It is my privilege to present Officer Jefferson Davis with the Department Medal of Honour." Osborn hangs a medal around Davis' neck, and you and Peter clap.

"I'm so glad this is all over. The gang war, I think." Peter whispers to you, and you raise your eyebrows.

"Really? Does this mean you'll finally be a little safer?" You ask, but Peter frowns a little.

"Well, there's some loose ends still to be tied up, but-"

"Loose ends?" You give him a wary glance. "Like what?"

"Like whatever 'Consolidated Shipping' is. It doesn't make sense." Peter sighs, watching concern grow on your face. "It's not right, but I'll figure it out."

Davis says a few words- he thanks his wife and his son, Miles, who you can see is sitting up at the front of the stage.

"Aw, cute kid." You remark to Peter, and he nods, gaining a slightly sheepish smile.

"Officer Davis did say I remind him of his son. I'll take it as a compliment." Peter jokes, and you snicker, calling him even more of a baby.

Behind you, Sable guards are talking on their walkie talkies about "keeping eyes on Osborn," which to you sounds as if they perceive a threat. You turn back to tell Peter, when he suddenly flinches.

"Peter-?"

He grabs his head, panicking- you watch as his pupils dilate, and he's clearly in some kind of shock.

"Everything feels off-" Peter flinches again, and you know he's having a Spider-Sense meltdown. There must be multiple things happening at once- even worse, you're not sure what he's supposed to do in this situation. He's not suited up, and he risks revealing his identity if he does anything.

Either way, Peter runs behind you. He shoves people out of the way, trying to get to the back of the event, behind the audience, but he's not fast enough. There are men arriving out of cars- corrupted men, turning that strange grey-blue-transparent hue that confirms their connection with Martin Li.

Peter runs- he dashes- but you see him flinch again, cowering under such threatening energy. He turns to the stage in horror, and you gasp in shock.

There's another corrupted on stage, covered in explosive devices.

An explosion goes off behind you, to the right of you, than another massive one on stage- the ground shakes beneath you, and you're too in shock to move.

"Get down!" Peter shoves you back, attempting to push you out of the way, just as another two explosions cause the earth under you to rattle, and you lose your footing and fall back on the pavement. You twist your arm unnaturally and hit your head.

You black out, the last thing you see being massive blue-black explosions in the sky.

/

Peter wakes to floating ash in the sky.

He coughs- there's a sharp pain in his right side, and a slight ache at the top of his hairline- he touches his forehead and pulls his fingers away to see brown-red, dry blood.

It doesn't matter. He'll heal faster than most, anyways- he needs to locate you.

He gets up, seizes a little due to the pain- and to his alarm, you're nowhere in his near sight. He walks around seeing Sable guards help people off the streets- although Peter really thinks they're poking and prodding and shoving them away, so they can clean up the mess around here.

He hopes you haven't been taken away by Sable guards.

Peter rushes to the nearest clinic- but there's too many people crowding around there with their injuries, and the receptionist at the emergency room tells him there's no one by your name here.

He begins to panic. You're not responding to his calls, either. Peter doesn't want to believe the worst could've happened to you, but he does hear people talking on the streets about the casualties. Apparently at least 10 people have been found dead so far- Peter starts swearing under his breath.

He decides to head to FEAST- he's not sure if you'll be there, but it's better to ask Aunt May or some of the volunteers if you've been seen. FEAST also operates as an emergency medical clinic, too, even with limited supplies, and it's with this small amount of hope that Peter travels there.

Pushing through the doors, the front desk woman- Amanda- she's startled by how intensely Peter asks about you.

"I don't know, Peter." She points to the main auditorium, where many homeless and injured people are currently being attended to. "It's kind of an open house back here- you're going to have to look through the crowds."

Peter sighs. "Thanks, Amanda."

It takes him about fifteen minutes to do a full, quick walkthrough. The entire time, his heartbeat thumps faster as he realizes- he's not seeing you anywhere. There's nobody wearing your trademark scarf, your usual dark blue jeans- nobody with your fastidious expression, where you always seem to take in the entire world before speaking- nobody to relieve the steady ache in his heart.

Peter walks into the room full of medical supplies, expecting to see Aunt May- and while May is there, busy with another volunteer, the first thing he sees is you, with your hair all disheveled and messy, bruises on your cheek and a cut under your lip, and your arm wrapped in a cast and a sling.

But you have a soft, comforting smile. You're kneeling down to help a little girl- she can't be older than five- and you're placing a bandage on her knee. And the little girl squeals, hugging you after you say "It's all better now."

Peter would agree with that.

You look up, arms still embraced around the little girl- Rina is her name- to see Peter, looking wistful, sad, a clear lump in his throat. His eyes are watery.

"Peter?" You watch as he comes forward.

"I thought you were- I thought..." He wipes his eyes. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Well, Little Rina over here needed a little bit of medical attention." You kindly tap her shoulder and she nods up at Peter, smiling. "She tripped and fell and no one was paying attention to her knee, so I decided to help her."

"That's..." Peter trails off, wondering how you could be so selfless when your own face was looking a bit worse for wear. "That's sweet of you to do. How do you feel, kiddo?"

He kneels towards her, and she grins really big. "Better!"

"Alright, high five then." Peter high fives her, and she dashes off afterwards, most likely looking for the parent she came with.

"Why didn't you respond to my calls?" Peter asks you as soon as you turn back to him. "I thought... I thought the worst had happened-"

"Peter, please. Stop with the wounded ego." May calls him out, listening from the sidelines. "What's important is that she's safe and in one piece- that's more than enough to feel grateful about."

Peter looks down, ashamed. He knows May is right, and he has to swallow his pride for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Peter." You grasp his hand, and he looks back at you, jaw tight as he listens. "I didn't mean to not answer your calls- my phone got shattered. And I didn't know where to find you after I woke up- I was already being taken away by Sable guards to 'safety' and then I decided my best chance to find you was over here."

"Oh." Peter feels kind of dumb, but he also feels glad you think of FEAST as a spot to find him. "I should've kept you safe."

"Don't. Don't make yourself crazy with what you could've done." You plead with him, and he sighs but shakes his head. "My arm will heal with time. I guess I landed on it weirdly and broke it."

Peter winces. "Well, you can always ask me for help if it bothers you. I'm there for you."

He traces your lip, where the cut under is still a red-brown, harsh hue in comparison to the pink of your bottom lip, and May takes this as her cue to leave.

Peter snorts. "I wish you had my-"

"Super healing? Yeah, I wish that too." You laugh. "Were you lucky enough to not get hit, or did you just heal on the way here?"

Peter's reaching for a facial bandage and some rubbing alcohol. "The latter."

"Ugh, lucky bastard." You smile up at him, cringing only slightly as Peter rubs away the blood from your wound. "I'm just glad that means I don't have to worry too much about you."

"You still do." Peter remarks, placing the bandage on your face. "But that just means you love me."

And, being ever so thankful that you're safely back in his arms, Peter places a soft kiss on your forehead, and then a slightly-less-soft one on your mouth, hoping it doesn't hurt you, but happy that you kiss him back anyways.

[nejiverse]

YOU’RE HIRED!

Nagi Seishiro

In which you ‘interview’ your jobless boyfriend

cw: suggestive at the end, choki is the name of nagi’s pet cactus for those who don’t know, I’ll proofread this later lol

802 words

"Sei you really need to get a job", you plopped down next to him on the bed as he looked extremely focused on what ever game he was playing.

"Ehh? Sounds like a pain".

"Breathing is a pain for you love, at this point you're just gonna have to build a bridge and get over it", you spoke resting your head on his shoulder.

He frowned. "Building a bridge sounds like a pain too".

"...i meant that metaphorically, I don't actually expect you to build one", you didn't think you'd ever have to explain that...but here you were.

"Still a pain".

You were on the verge of banning that word from his vocabulary.

You let the room fall silent for a second before you quickly snatched his console away from him and crawled to the end of the bed.

Which unfortunately was unsuccessful because Nagi grabbed you by your leg.

"Stealing isn't nice y'know", he pouted while he put his hand out, expecting you to drop his console back into his hand.

"Oh like that time you stole my last chicken nugget?".

"Borrowed actually", he huffed.

You shook your head and stuffed his console down your shirt, showing your empty hands to him as if you've just done the most incredible magic trick.

"You need a life babe", it was true. All he did was wake up, play games, and go back to sleep. It was unhealthy.

"You are my life", he responded.

You laughed. "Nice try but that won't get your console back".

"Aw, damn".

You thought of an idea that'd entertain you but also would let you figure out if your boyfriend was equipped for a job...or if anyone would even consider employing him.

"Alright pretend i'm your potential employer, if you pass my interview you can have it back", you sat up and crossed your legs.

Nagi agreed, but only if you'd make it easy.

"So tell me a bit about yourself", you decided to skip introductions. There was no way anyone could flunk that, even your lazy boyfriend.

"Mmm my name is Nagi Seishiro, I like games and sleep", he blinked at you as you urged him to go on but he only shrugged his shoulders. "That's it".

You face palmed at his hopelessness. "Sei is that seriously what you're gonna tell your employer?!".

"Of course it is".

The fact that he was serious added to your worry for him but the show must go on.

"Why did you decide to apply for this job?".

Nagi placed a hand on his chin in thought. He already had his answer but it just added to the theatrics of it all in his opinion.

"I was forced to apply against my will by my girlfriend", he spoke.

"Seiii! Your employer will literally leave!", you shook his shoulders gently.

"I say good riddance".

"Okay one more question, and answer it properly!", you forewarned. He thought his answers were pretty proper though.

"Why should we hire you?".

"So my girlfriend'll stop bugging me about getting a job...do I get the job now?".

"Fuck no", you laughed, scooting closer to your disappointed boyfriend who laid back down with a sigh.

"If it makes you feel any better, A for effort", you laid your head on his chest. "You can just work from home or something".

"I can be a house husband", you looked up at him quizzically.

"Sei, sweetie, love of my life, you don't even do the small chores you have these days...I don't think that's possible", you patted his chest.

He grumbled under his breath, you really had zero faith in him but you were only being realistic.

"Alright then I can be a stay at home dad”.

You raised a brow. Nagi of all people as a father??. "For that you'd need actual kids. We've none of those".

You were taken aback when Nagi moved your head from his chest to the pillow and got on too of you, a hand at your head and the other on your waist. You blinked blankly. "Let's get to baby makin' then", he said it so casually, you were shocked…but not completely opposed to the idea.

“S-seriously?”, you averted your gaze to the side.

Nagi’s hand slithered up your top as he shook his head.

“Nah, I just realised I’d still have to do chores”, he took back his console and laid next to you, continuing his game. “Besides we’ve got a kid already”.

“We do?”.

“Yeah, Choki”.

Masterlist :)

a/n: more drafts..I’ve a biology exam in two days and I just came back from holidays 💀 #ihatethefivekingdomsoflife

[cookinguptales]

I was reading your latest meta and it got me thinking, mostly the part about how Guillermo's trigger is being undervalued and I agree but also I think he takes Nandor's shit because he knows Nandor actually values him. Like in seasons 1 and 2 there are times when he thinks about killing him, but all starts to change when Nandor saves him from Topher and then Guillermo's like now I know my master cares for me. I think Nandor was very loving by vampire standards from the start, he's just a little better at showing it now, but the big change is not his behaviour, it's that Guillermo is aware that Nandor cares. The bit in 5x01 about the cute montage or even his smile at the cinema proves it. Like we're supposed to think haha he's delusional how funny, but he's not actually, he knows Nandor loves him even when he laughs at him or is being rude. And while Guillermo has gotten more and more secure in the knowledge of how Nandor truly feels, Nandor doesn't have that... at all. If anything each season gives him more reasons to fear abandonmet, there was always the risk of Guillermo leaving and now there's this new fear of him staying and still not being there for him emotionally. The turning is just the icing on the cake. I think to fix things and to make it work between them eventually Guillermo will need to prove to Nandor that he lives him for him and that he doesn't want to leave him ever. I'm not saying marrying Guillermo will fix Nandor, but I'm not not saying it lol

*looks at her entire body of work on ao3* yes, these are subjects I also think about a lot. lmao

No, you're right, these are things I really love about the show. Like I was saying in that meta post, you really do have to look at Nandor's actions through the lens of vampiric norms. Nandor absolutely does not treat Guillermo well by human standards, but by vampire standards... he's downright eccentric, how into his familiar he is. That comes up a lot, actually. Other vampires are weirded out by how devoted Nandor is to Guillermo.

I mean, just look at how we've seen other vampires treat their familiars, including even other vampires in the same house. They're completely disposable. They have them fight like pokemon. They put them down when they get a hangnail. They keep them in dog cages. They've completely dehumanized familiars because they are glorified food.

Like... maybe even worse than food? Like maybe tainted food. Vampires regularly fall for (and turn) humans, but there's such a distaste for familiars. At least other humans are free, y'know? They don't debase themselves the way familiars do. I think that's what disgusts the vampires far more than familiars' intrinsic humanity. It's the servility. The willingness to sacrifice their own. (Vampire shall not kill vampire, etc.) The fact that they take orders, something that most vampires clearly chafe against.

(Side note: it's so interesting that Guillermo, who clearly wants to be a vampire so he is no longer constrained by social norms, has willingly taken on a role that's even more constrained and submissive for years. That's a whole meta post in and of itself, though.)

But despite the blatant disrespect that vampires have for familiars, the open manipulation they use to keep them in line, the total dehumanization they engage in... Nandor doesn't. He protects his familiar. He plays one-on-one games with his familiar. He confides in his familiar. He does what his familiar says, partially to make him happy and partially because he is willing to acknowledge that his familiar is often right. These are all totally foreign behaviors to most other vampires.

Guillermo does come off as delusional at the beginning of the series, but we quickly realize that he's not wrong. Nandor was willing to sacrifice his life (and the lives of the other vampires) to save Guillermo at the Council. He did apologize to Guillermo and try to make it up to him after letting him down at the club. He did save Guillermo from Topher, even if he wasn't emotionally capable of admitting why. Guillermo was right.

Guillermo, we come to realize, actually knows these vampires better than literally anyone. And that's part of why he's been rewarded with a very strange relationship, for a familiar. It's also why he can see through Nandor's surface shittiness to what lies beneath. (Which is occasionally more shittiness, but is often something much softer.) You're right, his smile at the movies really did speak volumes. He knew why he was there, even if Nandor was being a crab at him.

The only thing he doesn't seem to get about Nandor is how easily he can hurt him. I think he's finally, finally starting to understand how much power Nandor has given him. Like... I remember when Nandor went off to join the cult and Guillermo was like "I guess now I know how it feels." He genuinely had not considered up until that moment how badly it had hurt Nandor when he'd left him. He hadn't considered that he had that power over him.

But I think Guillermo gets it now more fully than he ever has in the past, and I think he'll only get it even more by the end of this season. He knows that Nandor has abandonment issues, but he's never seen the way those issues are attached to him specifically. Nandor always plays it off like he didn't miss Guillermo when he was gone, and Guillermo used to believe him. But he's finally seeing how fucking weird Nandor gets when he's worried about Guillermo leaving him. He started to see it in s4, with the wedding stuff, but he's really seeing it now.

Nandor is upset. He's upset purely and only because he thinks Guillermo doesn't want to be with him anymore. And Guillermo really can't ignore that anymore -- and isn't, for that matter. It's really killing him, I think, to finally realize just how much he means to Nandor right after doing something that will damage their relationship, perhaps irreparably. He's finally putting all the pieces together and realizing that even he didn't see how much he means to Nandor.

Nadja and Laszlo, however, know just how fucking weird Nandor's behavior towards Guillermo is and always has been. They know exactly what Guillermo means to him, though they're a little fuzzier on why. (Though thankfully, they are also starting to see the light.) So they understood immediately what the consequences of all this would be.

I do think that Nandor mostly just needs irrefutable proof that Guillermo wants to be with him. He has been damaged by all the times that people have left him in the past, and he's been even more damaged by all the times Guillermo has left him in the past. I do think a large part of why he won't turn Guillermo is because he's afraid that he'll leave once he no longer needs anything from him. I do think that's why he has such weird, unhinged, possessive behavior towards Guillermo's attention. I do think that's why he concocted an entire fucking wedding.

I don't know that marrying Guillermo would completely assuage his fears, especially considering the way that all of Nandor's past marriages have ended, but it sure wouldn't hurt. lmao. I think Nandor probably wants to be the wife this time, too.

I think he just needs something real and tangible that will make him believe fully that Guillermo will never, ever leave him. And hell, who knows? Maybe that'll be Guillermo being turned, knowing that Nandor might kill him for it, and still sticking around.

[arialityy]

Honkai pt.2 first impressions (as of completing pt.2 ch.1 phase 1) (don't come at me)

I'm gonna be focusing mostly on the characters in this post, but I'll briefly go over the ui and open world

So... I really miss the old ui already lmao. Even if it did look old and outdated, I think it was pretty unique for a sci-fi game and personally easier on my eyes (I think I just need to get used to it, but everything looks to similar in the new ui and I can't focus as easily on it 😭 That's probably just me though) I also think it looks kind of out of place if you go back to play older chapters, but it's not horrible. Personally, I feel like I'll always prefer the old ui. However, it looks great in the new open world chapter! Usually, I don't really like the ow chapters, but this one actually runs well, and I've been enjoying it quite a lot, even the side missions. (Also, it's just really nice to look at) It definitely reminds me of hsr and apho, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

As for the new gameplay, it's... ok. The new battlesuits don't feel much funner or nicer than the old battlesuits. If anything, I like them less. With Helia and Coralie, the effects are fine since they're A-ranks, and the gameplay is also nice for an A-rank. Senadina's actual gameplay is fine. But her animations are so boring 😭 I like that it lights up the area around her but that's about it. I get that sometimes the animations could get too flashy, but Senadina's are just boring for what's presumably meant to be the fancy new S-rank. I'll cut her some slack, though, since it's still the beginning of pt.2.

Finally, I'll be talking about the characters themselves! Remember, these opinions are very subject to change, as it's only the beginning of pt.2's story. (I'll ommit my opinions on the designs for today)

Starting with the Dreamseeker!

I really appreciate how they didn't make them just another self insert who barely talks. Though I don't see why they didn't fully commit and give them a name. They could even keep the genderswapping thing by giving them an androgynous name. (Speaking of that, I didn't think I'd like that, but y'know what, it's cool that it's actual genderfluid rep!) However, the DS's personality so far has been kind of boring in my opinion. I think they're a very intriguing character. I mean, they were born out of the Sea of Quanta and hilariously chill over dreaming about dancing with a goddess who tells them they're gonna save the world, waking up in the SoQ with an amnesiac version of that goddess, and being thrust into a whole new bubble universe. I know they want to get home, but damn, I feel like I would freak out more. I really hope we get to learn more about them, and their personality shines through more!

Senadina- Ok. I'm pretty sure this is a controversial opinion already, but I don't really like Senadina. I want to because her selective memories and connection to a goddess are interesting, and she has cute moments, but she kind of just... annoys me. I mean, we've seen this kind of amnesiac but bubbly character before (*cough cough* March 7th *cough cough*), and something about her personality just annoys me. I can't pinpoint what it is about her, but like... I just don't really like her. She starts growing on me, and then she'll say something that annoys me. Right now, she feels like a character just designed to sell toys to me. I'm sure that will change, as she's one of the main main characters, but right now, she just isn't it for me. I hope she gets more interesting, and I grow to like her more.

Coralie- She's very much the Bronya of the group, but she's not just a Bronya clone, and I can appreciate her for that. I don't think I like her as much as I liked Bronya right off the bat, but of the main four, she has the most personality to me so far. She's also just kind of weird, which I like lmao. I have less to say about her and Helia, so just know that while I do like her, she's far from being an instant favorite.

Helia- She exists. That's almost all I have to say. Her bridge voicelines did make me like her a bit more, though. I think she's kind of cute, but nothing about her interests me. I also don't really like that she's yet another Durandal fan. I get that we only have like - 2 Dudu fans other than her, but it's not really an original character trait. Why couldn't she have been a Kiana fan or something? Even a Theresa fan would be cool. Teri needs more fans. I think she's fine, but boring.

Songque- She's definitely my favorite so far! There's definitely enough intrigue surrounding her for me to want to know more about her. What was that "dream" sequence with the DS before they actually met about? She's a shu, but what does she really know? I also like her personality. It's not like my favorite personality or anything, but she definitely has one, and it adds to the intrigue surrounding her. I hope she doesn't just go away after this story arc is finished.

So, that's most of my opinions about pt.2 so far! I left out some stuff, but this is really all you need to know about how I feel about the characters, gameplay, and ui so far.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for asking my brother to turn down the volume? And WIBTA for assuming his internet history and trying to get him to stop visiting certain sites?

So it's like this- my (24ftnb (closeted)) hearing is incredibly oversensitive. Like, I can hear someone chewing with their mouth open from 100 paces. However, I'm usually good about not reacting to noises that frustrate me. Not always- sometimes I have to text a meme I made to one of my brothers (22m, 20m, 12m) that's an edit of the "I (do this thing), but I don't want to" meme. The one with the guy who looks up in the second panel with red eyes. "I hear everything, but I don't want to," y'know?

In the past, the predecessor to this meme was simply crawling out of bed to stand in my brothers' doorframe to tell 22m (younger at the time, obviously) to stop singing loudly at 2 am. (It never worked until our parents got involved, and even then sometimes not for the entire night.) Times have changed, I no longer sleep across the hall from all three, but we're all still stuck in the same house, and it's now 20m who's keeping me awake.

Most of the time, he's watching a show he enjoys or playing a video game in the basement. And humming along. Which sounds perfectly fine, and I'm glad he can find some time to indulge in his interests. Whenever I ask him to maybe indulge at a volume that doesn't carry through the vents and directly to my room, though, he gets angry and tells me it's an "anon problem, not a [him] problem." Which. Whatever. I'll deal with itchy earplugs if I need to when at home. They're usually enough to silence the little things, though louder stuff always manages to get through.

Now, though, we're visiting family, and the four of us are sharing a hotel room while our parents take a second. (Yes, yes, I know, three 20-somethings still living with our parents. Our parents put the "rent" into "parent" for each of us once we hit 18, so it's not like we're "freeloading." The economy's in shambles, so this is the best we've got rn.)

And 20m started watching episodes of a show he likes on the room's TV almost immediately after dinnertime, continuing until about 11:30 PM, when I eventually suggested that he watch one more before turning it off or switching to his phone. Something that wouldn't get loud enough to half-wake 12m for the fourth time in a row. I was careful not to mention my own annoyance at being unable to sleep.

Apparently the appropriate response was "I don't want to hear that from you."

Now, this is where that other question I asked comes in, and why I felt the need to specify that I'm closeted ftnb. See, 20m has previously talked about sigma males being better than alpha males, has told me to "use your ethos!" and acted like I was an idiot for not catching on that he meant "use your brain," and repeatedly interrupts conversations where our mother, 12m, and/or I are speaking to completely veer it off-course to whatever he wants to talk about. Additionally, he is incredibly controlling of 12m and has been for nearly all of 12m's lifetime. At the same time, whenever I try to point this out to someone, I am not believed and am considered to be overreacting, thin-skinned, or oversensitive. If 20m is around to see me do so, he snaps at me for "butting in."

Honestly, it feels like he might be browsing incel subreddits or something, but I don't know any specifics beyond how his mentality's changed over the years. All I know is that it feels like he is so much less likely these days to treat my suggestions as equal to his own when I'm not being a yes-man. Yes-person?

Now, I'll straight-up admit that I am not an objective observer. It's very possible that I'm in the wrong about all this, as far as I can tell, but these are the facts as I see them, and nobody's told me otherwise while also elaborating on what the truth would be in such a case.

So…AITA for asking my brother to turn down the volume? And WIBTA for both assuming he's browsing sites that are eroding his ability to interact with other people, and for planning to find a way to get him to stop?

What are these acronyms?

[punsmaster69]

8/MAR/20XX

sorry, dog ate yesterday's page.

real shame.

there was truly nothing i could do.

anyway, as for today.

sitting hunched over the table is papyrus and frisk who are trying to work out the problems on a math assignment tori gave them.

normally me or alphys would be the ones to help guide 'em, but papyrus insisted with full confidence that he could help.

other than a pause when tori made them lunch, they haven't given it up for the hour or so they've been going so far.

me and tori are just hanging out on the couch while sewing a few holes in our respective younger relative's clothing articles.

for papyrus, it's a few holes in some gloves, a pair of jeans, and a shirt that got just barely caught on the wrong end of a spear while sparring.

similar stuff with frisk, minus the gloves and sparring parts.

i'll keep you updated on their progress. promise not to let 'em suffer for too long.

——

"...HUMAN."

elbows up on the table, fingers crossed, face serious - papyrus closed his eyes and sighed.

reaching into his scarf, he removed a calculator. you would swear it glinted in the light. frisk gasped.

"NOW, I KNOW HOW THIS MAY SEEM..."

"BUT TAKE THIS NOT AS DEFEAT - BUT AS A TRUCE!!"

"ER-"

he froze and quickly swiveled in his seat to look at toriel on the couch.

"MS. TORIEL, IS FRISK ALLOWED TO USE A CALCULATOR?"

"I do not see any reason they couldn't, as long as it is only to assist."

"no cheatin'."

rotating immediately to face frisk again, he taps the calculator onto the table and slides it in the middle of them.

frisk looks between the calculator and their page with a torn expression.

"CERTAINLY, IT WILL BE BETTER THIS WAY."

".......Man..."

"WE'VE BEEN AT THIS FOR PLENTY LONG!"

"Yeah, but..."

"IT IS NOT A LOSS TO ACCEPT ASSISTANCE!"

".....You know what? Yeah. Who cares how long we spent doing it manually."

quickly snatching the calculator up with a determined smile, frisk shouted.

"Let's get this over with already!"

you wouldn't be shocked to discover that it resulted in everything going much faster for them.

the second the paper left frisk's hand into toriel's, papyrus dragged them to the front door.

"NO MORE INSIDE-NESS! STRETCHING, PLAYING, AND GETTING SUN! THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED NOW!!"

"Return before dinnertime-"

"PER USUAL!"

"If you are going across the street, remember to-"

"LOOK BOTH DIRECTIONS, AND USE WALKWAYS!!"

rocking back and forth on his heels slightly, papyrus seemed anxious to get outside.

frisk finished tying the laces on their boots and jumped up - instantly grabbing onto papyrus' arm. he raised it so that they could dangle from his humerus.

"It is not cold, so I do not suppose you need a coat..."

"I trust that you two will keep safe."

"LEAVE IT TO ME!! YOU CAN'T SPELL 'SAFE' WITHOUT AT LEAST TWO LETTERS FROM MY NAME!"

"seeya, bro. seeya, kiddo."

"Byyyyeee!!"

tori waved.

accepting this as confirmation, it took mere seconds before papyrus had swung frisk up so he could carry them easier and darted excitedly out the door.

——

stopping just before my knuckles hit the doorframe, i decided against knocking upon peeking into the door - just barely cracked open.

my brother laid face-to-floor, hands still loosely holding up a book. his legs hung slightly over a mound of pillows. like a blanket, frisk had draped themselves (and an actual blanket) perpendicularly over paps; also on their face.

unbothered by my bro's slight snoring, both of them were completely out.

a dim light illuminated flowey's face as he clicked away at a game.

"('s pretty late, y'know.)"

"(Yeah, yeah. Get your brother and leave already.)"

i looked again at the two peaceful sleepers on the floor.

"(...nah. don't wanna disturb that.)"

"(got back from asgore's just to immediately hop on there, huh?)"

"(Your point?)"

"(you should be hopping to bed instead.)"

"(No.)"

"(just sayin', you'll regret it in the morning.)"

"(....)"

finally peeling his eyes away from the console, flowey shot me an irritated look.

"(Can you STOP saying, and leave instead?)"

"(ok.)"

with a shrug.

his mistake, not mine.

"(don't bother them with your light too much.)"

"('night, kid.)"

"(It sure is.)"

flickering a smug look across his face before it immediately gets wiped off by something in the game.

flowey, annoyed, shuts off the game and throws it onto the currently unused bed.

i step away from the door and pause to glance at toriel's door. the light remains on.

"...knock, knock."

"You may open it, if you so choose."

still in there finishing up sewing some spots on a sweater is toriel, now on her bed.

to muffle the sound, i step in and shut the door behind me.

"you're gonna wear your fingers out, doin' this all day."

"Certainly, I have done worse before. I will be alright."

"Are you going home now?"

"papyrus is dead asleep in there, and going home without him doesn't feel right."

"mind if i hijack your couch again?"

shifting over to make a little space beside her, toriel patted the bed.

"...you sure?"

"Mhm."

"It will be nice to have some company."

keeping my voice down still, i toss myself onto the cushion beside her.

"someone to pull an all-nighter with you?"

"Ohh, it will not take me THAT long. I am nearly done."

"good, 'cuz i'm failing already."

adjusting my head against her pillow and crossing my arms underneath it.

"Ah... goodnight, sleepyhead."

she turned over the sweater in her hands and set it aside, returning her sewing equipment to its tin - currently on her nightstand. tucking it into a drawer, she clicks off the lamp. toriel sinks down in the bed to be at face level with me.

i sit up for a moment. i lean forward, give her a skeleton's version of a kiss on the cheek.

"g'night."

she seems surprised but smiles, sits up as well, and gently places a hand on my cheek and kisses my forehead.

placing my hand over hers, i flop back onto the pillow.

removing her hand from mine for just a minute to pull the sheets up, toriel returns her hand where it was as she lays back down with me.

"...Now close your eyes, silly. They are quite light-up in the dark."

"ok."

[tobiasdrake]

This is it. The confrontation we've been waiting for. And he's still playing 4-D chess with moves so masterful you genuinely question if he even made them.

Glad to see Yuma learn that the WDO creed is bullshit. He doesn't need to aspire to be an island. It's okay to work together and have people help you. That's how problems get solved.

I've said it before but there is no problem-solving resource more valuable than another human being. I guess finding out the WDO was mass-executing people to bake into pastries was a bridge too far for his reverence towards the creed.

Which. Y'know. Fair.

Of course, Makoto's here to play his checkmate. Yuma only jumps into the Mystery Labyrinth when backed into a corner. Makoto probably Coalesced with Yuma during that "Take my hand and help me over the pipe" thing. This is his encouragement for Yuma to resort to his desperation move.

What is his Forte, I wonder? Yakou once mentioned that the most powerful Forte he's ever heard of allows you to hear the killer's inner voice. It's considered the WDO's ace in the hole.

If that's One/Makoto's Forte, it would have been easy for him to activate it during Coalescence without Yuma noticing. He's the culprit. All he has to do is not be thinking anything in particular while letting Yuma hear his silence.

Laying it on a little thick, man. Love your gun, by the way. You're a capitalist prick and I hate you, but there's no denying your style.

Ha! Even if I had thrown him out the window, it wouldn't matter. He's a UG homunculus. He doesn't have the degenerative defect with his regen. He'd be, ahem, right as rain by the following afternoon.

Which is likely also why he can be so bold with his "Come on, Mystery Labyrinth me!" plan. What does he have to lose? Shinigami can't kill him in any way that matters.

But we might get lucky and take Number One out too. If he dies, he dies for real.

Now we've crossed the line from "laying it on a little thick" to "impatiently shouting exactly what you want your rube to do". You okay, man? Pressure starting to get to you?

Oh, is that what we're centering on? Huh. That probably will nail Number One, not Makoto.

Maybe this was Makoto's plan. He bombed WDO so it's not like he has any loyalty to Number One, right? Maybe he's trying to assassinate the world's most untouchable super-genius by taking advantage of a Shinigami's limitless killing power?

He wants it so bad. What is the goal here? At this point, I feel like we understand every single piece of the mystery except why Makoto wants us to do this.

Credit where it's due, Makoto truly is a master. As much as I want to beat him to death with a baseball bat, then let him regenerate, then do it all over again? Watching him work never ceases to thrill.

Look at him. Yuma and Shinigami disappear into the Labyrinth and there he is. Pretending to be frozen in time, to avoid giving the game away. To stop Yuma from realizing that they've Coalesced.

You magnificent bastard.

Now Makoto is free to move about the frozen timespace. To enter the Mystery Labyrinth or... whatever his goal is. Without Yuma ever being the wiser.

This is what the entire plan to bring Master Detectives into Kanai Ward was about. It was for this moment.

[haircuttherapy]

"I'm trans by the way."

Finn glanced over at Huntress Wizard. She kept her gaze forward, the light from BMO's screen reflected in her eyes. 

"Oh." Finn eloquently replied, fumbling his controller for a moment before refocusing on his own character. He'd gotten hit while he was distracted, and was down to two hearts. "That's— that's cool."

The only sound for the next few minutes was the clack of their controllers and the 10 second loop of music BMO had manufactured for the game they were playing. Finn's character got hit again.

"Dude, you're sucking." Huntress Wizard informed him. 

"I know, sorry." Finn tightened his grip on the controller, and tried to refocus on the game. But he couldn't help himself. "What's trans mean?"

Now Huntress Wizard took a moment before responding. "It means I have a penis."

Finn spluttered, and his controller fell out of his hands completely. His character was hit, and the screen blacked out, reading GAME OVER in bold text.

"Dude." Huntress Wizard sighed, dropping her controller and leaning back. 

BMO's face popped back on their screen. "Would you like to play again?" They asked cheerfully.

"Nah, I feel like this is gonna be a whole thing," Huntress Wizard told BMO. "Could we get some privacy?"

"Oh, of course!" BMO jumped up, running up to the pairs knees to grab their controllers. "Thanks for playing! Good luck with your penis, Huntress Wizard!"

"... Thanks," Huntress Wizard replied haltingly. BMO, meanwhile, happily trotted out of the room with their controllers bundled into their little arms, beaming.

Finn's face was beet red. "W-what the flip, HW?" He gestured vaugely with his hands. "What prompted this??"

"I dunno," Huntress Wizard pulled her knees closer, cloak shifting around her shoulders. "Just thought it'd be something you'd like to know. Cus, y'know." She shrugged, looking away.

Finn's mouth formed several different words, but it took a few tries before anything came out. "I- I don't??" He raised his arms above his head, gesturing vaugely. "Like, I'm sorry if I'm being weird about this, but— was this always a thing?? Did you get cursed by like, a Dick Wizard, or like…"

Huntress Wizard sighed, crossing her arms over her bent knees and resting her chin on her arms. "Nah man, I was just like… born this way, or whatever. I dunno how to explain it good."

Finn dropped his arms, finally seeming to pick up on his friend's posture. "...So, were you ever like… Hunter Wizard?"

Immedietly, Huntress Wizard's face screwed up. "Don't ever call me that," she hissed in a sudden flash of anger.

Finn threw up his hands in surrender. "Sorry! I'm no calling you that, I'm just… I'm just trying to make sense of this," he scooted a bit closer.

"Don't." Huntress Wizard advised. "I already told you everything you gotta know, there's nothing to figure out. Just be cool, man."

Finn nodded. "Yeah, I can be cool." He hesitated, slowly raising his arm and awkwardly patting Huntress Wizard on the shoulder. "Sorry for being weird."

Finn's eyebrows were drawn together, his face still slightly flushed. "HW, how in Glob could I have possibly guessed that?"

Huntress Wizard sighed, finally uncovering herself and leaning back on her palms. "Nah, I'm the one who who's being weird. I shouldn't have jumped you with that info. I just…" her face screwed up for a moment. Finn resituated himself, crossing his legs and resting his head in his hands as he listened. "I dunno, we've been hanging out more. And we've been like, making out and stuff. And if that's a deal breaker for you, I get it." She avoided Finn's eyes, feigning nonchalance. "So I just wanted to make sure you knew, if you hadn't already picked up on it."

Huntress Wizard finally looked back at him, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. "Uh, my voice, for one." She spoke like it was obvious. 

"How could I tell what's in your pants by your voice?"

"It's all deep, and… husky." Huntress Wizard cleared her throat, leaning forward again to hold her hands out. "And my hands are all big. And my hips are small. And I have antlers."

Finn slowly reached out, covering her hands with his own. "Huntress Wizard," he spoke slowly, deliberately. "I've literally never thought about any of those things in my life."

"Well then you're dumb." She replied without missing a beat. "... but sweet." She added after a moment.

Finn smiled, wide and dumb, and Huntress Wizard couldn't help but lean forward to kiss him. He returned the kiss, but she broke it off early.

"So…" she prompted.

Finn, blushing and slightly dazed, blinked. "Sooo…" he echoed.

"Dude, I have a fuckin penis," Huntress Wizard threw her arms out suddenly, exasperated, sending a few leaves from her head fluttering away. "Does that bother you or what?"

"Oh!" Finn sat back. "Uhh…" he pursed his lips, thinking. 

"It's fine if it does. Really." Huntress Wizard interjected when he'd been quiet for a little too long. "Like, I'll get it. I shoulda said something earlier, probably, but like… it's a hard thing to bring up organically."

"... So why now?" Finn asked.

Huntress Wizard blew a raspberry as she exhaled, slumping. "Like I said, we're like. Making out more, and stuff. And I thought like… if we keep going, then like… it'd come up sooner or later."

"... Was that meant to be a pun?" Finn asked, genuinely confused. 

Huntress Wizard socked him in the arm.

"Sorry." She apologized while Finn was still cringing, rubbing his bicep. "That wasn't actually that bad of a pun. It's just a reflex I have."

"Nah, it's fair." Finn said, though he kept his distance. "I've gotten worse."

They lapsed into silence.

"... I should probably go, huh." Huntress Wizard looked down. "I feel like I've donked this all up."

"No no, nothing's donked!" Finn quickly tried to sooth. "I'm sorry, I'm still just… thinking about this." He admitted. "It's… I've never thought about…" his face reddened again, and he shook his head.

"It's cool." Huntress Wizard assured him. "You don't have to answer right now. Like, it'll ruin my whole day and I'll be thinking about this nonstop until I hear your answer, but it's cool, ya know, take your time." She cleared her throat. "That's, uh. All real by the way. I'm being genuine. I know it's hard to tell sometimes, because of the way I speak."

Finn laughed breathily, and Huntress Wizard's heart jumped in her chest. "I like the way you speak." He smiled. "I like your voice, and your hands, and your antlers. I think they're all… well, they're you. And I like you."

Huntress Wizard could hardly breath. "I'm in love with you."

"What?"

She stood up suddenly. "I'm leaving." Huntress Wizard strode out of Finn's room in several long strides. "Call me or whatever."

"Oh, o-okay!" Finn spluttered. "Thanks for coming over!"

Huntress Wizard was already gone, walking with long strides back to her forest home to shove her head into a pile of leaves and scream.

[blackjackkent]

Oh, geez, as if the past two cutscenes weren't enough of an emotional roller coaster ride for Hector, we get yet another very feelsy Karlach conversation come morning.

The game has this happening as a chat in camp, but I think I am picturing this as a conversation they'd have while still at the inn after the date. Perhaps lying in bed as the sun slowly starts to peek up over the horizon, both putting off the moment when they will have to get up and get dressed and go back to camp.

So, y'know, ignore the screenshots I guess. :P

"Hey," she says softly, running her fingers through his hair. He presses his face drowsily into her shoulder, shutting out the faint light starting to come through the window. "Wanna play pretend?"

He shifts just enough that one eye is uncovered to look up at her questioningly.

She's smiling, but it's a slightly distracted smile, a hint of sadness in it. "You and me... Let's imagine... I get to live fifty more years. We have a whole life ahead of us. What do we do?"

He goes very still and his heart gives a sharp twist in his chest - that all-too-familiar feeling of preemptive grief that arises whenever he thinks about losing her. His instinct, immediately, is to hide from the topic - to tell her he can't bear to think about it right now, which certainly feels true enough. For a moment he turns his head and buries his face back in her shoulder.

But then he draws a breath and steadies himself deliberately.

Last night, she finally spoke, for the first time seriously and without any safety valve of humor, of what is coming for her. She did not laugh, or make jokes about it, or deflect or pretend it didn't matter that she was going to die. And he needed to hear that, very badly, and he knows it was not an easy conversation for her to have.

And now it is his turn to answer her as she needs to be answered. She is certainly not asking this question for his benefit, but for hers; for whatever reasons might be going on in her own mind, she needs to have this conversation and carry his answer with her.

Perhaps all his training in self-control, all his life, was really just leading to the moments like this, he thinks. Moments that will no doubt come more frequently as the end draws closer - moments where he needs to be strong for her, for whatever she needs.

He shifts so his eyes are visible again and meets her gaze steadily. "It would look the same as it does now," he says slowly after long thought. "Adventure, fights - all of it together."

Does he think this is actually the truth? Hard to say. It doesn't really bear a lot of thinking about, what he actually would want from a life with her, since it brings nothing but pain. The answer he is giving is what he thinks she would want - what image would bring her happiness to hold onto.

She laughs softly, tips her head to kiss him gently between the eyes. "Now you're talking," she says lightly. "Faerun is so big, and we've barely scratched the surface." Her grin widens, but there's visible effort behind it. "I've always wanted to square up against a hill giant. With two of us, we might even stand a chance."

Her voice cracks on the last word, and she squeezes her eyes shut, a muscle working furiously in her jaw.

"Dammit," she whispers brokenly. "I wish I had a longer road ahead of me." Her fingers dust along his jaw, up into his hair. "I want to walk it with you..."

He lifts a hand, presses it to her cheek, kisses her fiercely, because he needs to do something or he will start crying as well. As it is, when he draws back, his eyes are damp and he's sure she can tell. But he doesn't cry. He holds himself steady. So many times when he has been at his lowest, she has been there for him to lean on. He will not give her less.

Try to hide a tear.

"Gods," she says softly, and her voice is more full of pain and grief than he has ever heard it. "What a disaster... Finding love like this - finding you - so perfectly late..."

Her hand cups behind his head to pull him tightly against her and she presses her face into his hair. When she speaks again, her voice is muffled. "I've always thought I was fearless. Never scared of a fight, of the future. But dying has taught me so much..." She exhales shakily and he can hear the breath catch in her throat. "There's no courage in fearlessness. There's courage in being fucking terrified but still going forward. Still being grateful. Still trying."

He smiles just a little against her chest. They've spoken of this before, in truth; she has offered it as reassurance against his own fears, of which there have been many. To hear it turned back to encourage herself, as well, somehow makes him feel the connection between them deepen even more.

He wraps his arms tightly around her, presses a line of slow kisses along her collarbone, up her neck, then draws back so he look into her face again.

She meets his eyes, breathes in and then out heavily. "We're going to save this city," she says firmly. "Together. It's going to be the last thing I do."

Again, he resists the urge to look away, to hide from the grief and the fear. If she must be put in the position of having to decide on her last wish, he thinks, she could not have chosen a better one. "I'm with you, Karlach," he murmurs, and though his voice trembles, it does not break. "Every step of the way."

She manages a slight smile, and even in spite of everything facing them, his heart flutters a little at the expression of love in her eyes. "That's why I know we're going to win."

-----

(A/N: It's cool, Larian, I didn't need my heart or anything. Once again I'm going to include a recording of this scene as well, because Samantha Beart's voice acting has really been obliterating me lately and the animation is very evocative as well.)

[gods-of-kanto]

For the three of you: do you guys have an equivalent to Dungeons and Dragons here? Y'know, the tabletop roleplaying game? If so what kind of character do you play?

Peach: It's still Dungeons and Dragons here, a lot of us are familiar with the concept actually!

Peach: Ash doesnt play- like a nerd- but when we rope him in, he tends to hinge on Barabrian type classing or a Sorcerer Barbarian if he double classes. Usually as a Hald Orc named Satoshi because he's an unimaginative dweeb.

Peach: Indigo is busy but when he can play he lynchs on a Cleric/Rouge DragonBorn. It's so fucking funny when we ruin his role playing because he's laughing to hard at something stupid we did.

Peach: The kids dont play just yet, but we've been introducing Peppy to it. She's mostly been sitting to the side at the moment but she's been voicing some of the characters!

Peach: Mom and Dad are our duo DM's. Mom hinges on the Psyche of our characters while Dad hinges on the fighting. They voice characters and are absolutely MAD that we befriended an enemy and now she follows us around like a lost puppy!

Peach: I tend to lean on a Druid/Fighter Teifling! He's the best and tries to pick pocket the rouge all the time and Indigo gets giggly whenever i fail. It's all in fun!

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms' Brute Grail Front Review #6

hoo boy, looks like caesar's just completely ignoring the grail war format now. we'll make sense of this ridiculousness below the cut.

Know Thy Enemy

so right off the bat, we've got a big focus on mobility this time around, with Cu Chulainn and Summer Okita making a surprise face-heel turn, as well as Nagao Kagetora, Alexander, and Ushiwakamaru to really seal the deal. We've also got Assassin Emiya who feels kind of left out, though he can move in quick bursts.

this team isn't really defense-heavy, but they move fast, and thanks to Emiya and Alexander they can hit hard in quick bursts.

Who to Bring?

this time around we're at a serious numbers disadvantage, with only one assassin, two sabers, and an extra class to work with.

first things first, we need to get these fuckers to stay still for five goddamn seconds. that's why we're getting a helping hand from your favorite kaiju and mine, Kingprotea!

KP's got a massive reach, so even the speediest enemies trying to stay out of it will have their work cut out for them. on top of that, she can smash up the ground to slow down most enemies while using her big ol' bigby's hand to ground Okita. thanks to KP's size she can also move at full speed while grappling medium creatures- that means she can just pick up two enemies and hand deliver them to her allies for easy pickin's.

but we're still at a big disadvantage with numbers- the action economy is big in this game, and without any caster servants it'll be hard to summon any help...

unless you're Jason.

Jason relies on his friends a lot, and thankfully his build comes with a lot of ways to bring them to the battlefield. summoning Herc is probably a risky move, but the enemy has more people, so he's more likely to hit them! genius play, no notes.

but y'know, I'm still not sold on us having the numbers advantage. if only there was some servant who was actually a ton of people, and could deal burst damage to take out the enemy dpses quickly! oh hey Hundred Personas, didn't see you there.

if the enemy wants to play hard to get, that's fine! HP here can just create more copies to throw their way, no sweat. and of course having a sneak attack to match Alex's and Emiya's smites doesn't hurt either. I mean, it hurts them... you know what I'm saying.

finally, we need another cheap saber and our options are gilles de rais, the guy who we're fighting against, or Bedivere. that's not even a competition.

the good news is Bedi's another burst damage god, and he's great at helping out the rest of the team too! he's got multiple stackable smites, as well as a champion challenge to lock enemies in place!

[unprocione]

name : rian!

pronouns :  he/him :)

preference of communication : discord! always discord, i constantly forget tumblr ims exist, and on discord i can remark things as unread, so i don't lose the notification if i can't reply at the time, which helps when i'm burnt out or if my attention span is particularly bad that day.

most active muse :  leon & only leon these days!

experience / how many years :  i've been writing on tumblr since late 2018! it feels like way longer, i started writing on tumblr when red dead redemption 2 was released and i was writing josiah trelawny while the game was actually still under embargo, scrambling to watch every new playthrough episode i could find while the fandom was setting up. i didn't actually play the game myself until it was released on pc in late 2019!

best experience : i had several really good experiences writing atlas/frank fontaine from bioshock in a western cusp-of-the-nineteen-hundreds american heartland verse, going into alot of topics like industrialism at that time, the american labour movement and american union history, strike tactics & the economics of greed. it was inspired alot from a show on the usa network called damnation that got cancelled, i did a ton of historical research and i mostly wrote with red dead redemption ii muses, did alot of worldbuilding with @sharp-teeth-and-wide-grins who is an excellent roleplay partner! i'm working on potentially setting up that verse again but from a different perspective for leon, because i miss it.

rp pet peeves : oh i have alot of opinions but i keep 'em to myself until you give me an opportunity. can't stand people getting cancelled for writing villains as the actual villains they are in canon, or characters generally as more complicated morally, especially when they're referencing content from the actual media and people are losing their minds because they're not the fandom expectation or easy ship material. so many people will have 'mun does not equal muse!!' in their carrds and byfs but will clutch their pearls if you even quote directly from source material, and then harass the fuck out of you, send hate anons, suicide bait, i mean we've all seen it happen or heard about it if it hasn't happened to us directly, definitely so if you're on this site for more than a year, so you know what i mean. i don't like people looking to my writing for moral directives or sifting through all my content to glimpse some kind of agenda, i think that's chronically online behavior. obviously it's different if someone is writing pedophilia or something but i just feel like i shouldn't have to make that disclaimer at all, it feels like common sense but if i don't say something i run the risk of someone messaging me like 'so you support so & so? kill yourself!' y'know.

fluff, angst, or smut : i like all of these in moderation so long as there's depth to it further than just being fluff, angst, or smut for no cause, you know? if it's not signature to our muses, if it doesn't fit narratively, and is just feel-good content, i just get bored, and having any of this in back to back to back to back threads of just one roleplay genre is like being smothered to death with chocolate cake, i only like a little bit once in a while otherwise i get sick of it, y'know.

plots or memes :��plotting 100%, but even though i heavily prefer plotting, i don't often have the energy for it? even if i really like the other muse's portrayal. or, alternatively, i will do all of this plotting in my head, and just like. never act on it, or bring it to my roleplay partner, due to this weird ocd-adjacent anxiety symptom i'm trying to break now that i have meds to help me out, where i make alot of social rules and conditions for myself that just overall completely pens me up and isolates me. i don't know what it's called but i've just always had that and it gets in the way of what i love doing all the time.

long or short replies : i don't have a reliable perception of long or short replies! i'm happy with two paragraphs but i'll reply with like six or eight paragraphs average because once i get over my anxiety there's really nothing else stopping me and i like run-on sentences and exposition and scenery and internal monologues!! and i know it's not always appropriate sometimes too, like if we agree on a shorter thread for less pressure, but i've always had a hard time knowing where to stop with anything, i have no perception of an appropriate point to cut off? i need like. a reverse nanowrimo.

time to write : apparently 11:00 pm - 6 am est, since that's when i'm most productive lately.

are you like your muses : god i hope not. i did choose to write leon as gay though because, i'm gay myself and it was more comfortable for me, even though he's pretty heterosexual in canon, but that's less from me wanting to relate with him on a point, and more because i have had some really uncomfortable and bad experiences shipping with female muses who didn't respect boundaries in the past. whether that's projecting attraction on me as a person instead of my muse, or wanting me to write noncon or torture porn, and finding a way to take it out on me when i said no or tried to let them down easy, and it's one of those things where looking back on the memory of it gives me the same tight-chested feelings as alot of people get when they've been involved in intense drama and callouts and stuff. just can't do it anymore! maybe that'll change someday ^^

tagged by: @blitzkriegers & @omniterror thamk u both for tagging :) tagging: @ubcs, @sinibell, @valour-bound, @mycelae

[hyenahunt]

Saga: Rivals - 18

Writer: Akira

Season: Winter

Characters: Jin, Seiya, Hiyori, Hokuto, Jun

Proofreading: 310mc (JP) & hyenahunt (ENG)

Translation: kotofucius

Seiya: Hocchan, be sure to hold your friend tight in your arms. Keep him from soaring away and vanishing beyond the sky.

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Location: Soundproof Lesson Room

Jin: Woah… Are my eyes tricking me or are there sparks flying here? Kids these days and their violent ways.

Seiya: Fufu. I find this kind of atmosphere refreshing, personally. Once you're my age, people tend to stop picking fights with you.

Jin: Er, in your case, I'm pretty sure it’s more about your status… Nobody would choose to just up and challenge God on their own, Seiya-san.

Seiya: I'm no God, of course. Those who are actually worthy of that title have long left us for the heavens above.

Hiyori: Ah, sensei. You’ve casually strolled in while conversing like it's nothing, I see… So, by those actually worthy of that title, would you happen to mean Nagisa-kun’s father?

Seiya: Yes, and I believe Akehoshi-kun to be one as well.

The rightful protagonists of this world have passed, and as a mere supporting role who has been left behind, I go about my days in constant confusion at all the twists and turns in life.

Hocchan, be sure to hold your friend tight in your arms. Keep him from soaring away and vanishing beyond the sky.

No matter how much you regret later, what efforts you exert to restore the good name of a deceased man will only serve as a momentary consolation.

Because our hands can never touch the stars in the sky… yes?

Hokuto: …Well, Akehoshi appreciates what you passed onto me before SS.

You have my gratitude for that too, at the very least. Of course, it still annoys me that you couldn’t seem to just hand it over to me in a normal way.

Seiya: You’re welcome. Surely you've found yourself feeling glad to have your Papa around for once, yes?

…Though it was a bit late, perhaps. Too late, even.

In any case, it won't do us any good to keep looking back on the past. Rather than old men like us, it is you children who'll be the ones to build the next era.

The higher-ups appear to be struggling a little in understanding that…

Even just from the name of Reverse Live, I feel as though I can clearly sense their intention to reverse the hands on the clock, all the way back to the golden era of idols.

Hokuto: Really? I actually read it more in the sense of a reversal of power against authority.

Like it's a chance to rebel against those who sit back all high-and-mighty at the top… A chance to reverse the game board that locked them in place.

Jun: Yeah, same. What a coincidence, Hidaka-san, it seems like we've got the same interpretation, huh?

Hokuto: So we do. I have reason to believe we really can get along, Eden.

Jun: That's Lilith to you, and I’ve got no intention of playing at being friends with you or anything…

So don’t get too chummy with me, yeah? Let your guard down and we might just swallow you whole, starting from your head.

Jin: Woah there, easy now. There's no need to be so aggressive, boys…

If you two wanna duke it out so badly, just do it onstage while following the rules, ‘kay? But firstly, we've got some joint practice to do, so try to behave yourselves.

Jun: Sagami Jin.

Jin: Huh? Um, er… What is it? Couldja maybe not glare at me like that? That's a pretty scary face you've got there!

Jun: Yeah, well, I was born with it. …Hey, you were in the audience watching SS, weren'tcha?

Jin: Um, yeah… I mean, it was an important performance for my students… 'Course I’d want to be there as their teacher, right?

W-Was I not supposed to? Did I make you uncomfortable just by watching it?

Jun: …Goddamn. No one said shit about that, dude. Why’re you acting so scared, anyway? Get it together, lameass.

I’m not gonna bite or anything, alright~?

Jin: I know. Sorry, though, I've just honestly got no idea how to act around you.

Jun: You could just be yourself, y'know… It's not like I’m your student, so you don’t need to act like a teacher.

Jin: A-Alright. But then, how should I… No, I got it. I’ll give it a go.

Jun: Cool. And not that I care, but couldja at least try to look a little more imposing~? There’s no point kicking your ass if you’re not in your best form.

It'll just look like I'm bullying the weak like this, y'know?

Jin: Haha. Nah, as a matter of fact, all of you have long surpassed my current level in terms of your ability as an idol. I'm not saying it just to flatter you — I seriously mean it.

No matter what the results were, you shone brilliantly during SS.

It was just so dazzling… Maybe it wasn't quite befitting of my age, but you moved this old man to tears.

It was only then that I well and truly felt the value — the weight of the things I had so easily let go.

I felt lost, wondering, “just what am I doing?”... But I guess that’s how I’ve been feeling all this time, ever since I restarted idol work for Project-Saga.

Well, these mystifying and wonderful days will soon come to an end. The thought of it makes me feel both disappointed and yet relieved, in a way — this whole time, I’ve felt like I've been in a waking dream.

Jun: I could say the same thing. Who'd have ever thought I'd get to face off against you… When you’re an idol, every day is seriously just full of things you'd expect to only happen in dreams~ ♪

Well, that's enough of that. Sorry, Hidaka-sensei; I just had to say something to him, or I'd never find closure…

We got sidetracked for a bit, but please continue with the main topic.

Seiya: Of course. There's no problem with that. If anything, I'm relieved to see your exchange was more peaceful than I imagined.

…That may be less desirable where Lilith is concerned, but for us idols, to love is still more correct than to loathe.

Jun: …?

Seiya: And although we've spent many days of practice just for this day, Rain-bows will be going onstage without much of that…

So as a battle tactic, it wouldn't be wrong to rob them of even more time by conversing with them.

Hokuto: Playing dirty again… Is that the reason you’re proposing we have a joint practice too? To take advantage of our time and get in our way?

That’s low, Lilith!

Hiyori: Oh, you intend to slander us, do you? I simply can't let that slide!

Jun: Haha. Honestly, it's on Hidaka-sensei for giving them the wrong idea with his wording too~

…But I mean, we’re gonna win this without even lifting a finger. I don’t see any reason for us to get in your way, y'know?

Jin: Ooh, full of confidence, huh? But this is your debut performance, isn't it? You’ve got nothing on us in terms of experience; we’ve been involved with Project-Saga since its birth.

So between us, I wonder who exactly's gonna be in trouble for wasting time?

For us Rain-bows, it’s just a matter of doing our usual work, but for you guys? It’s your first ever fight, isn't it?

You sure you got your mental prep and everythin' in order?

Seiya: Ahaha. You really are still so young, Jin-kun. You’re letting the children get to you — They've sure got you fired up…

But that’s fine. The show will be more exciting that way.

For the first time in a while, I think my own blood is pumping in excitement, too.

But in any case, whether it is the era that will be reversed, or whether it’ll be the hierarchy…

Which one will end up being the true intention of Reverse Live will be decided from hereon, whether we like it or not.

I don’t mind either way, but I do hope that... we can show the audience a marvelous surprise.

An idol is no illusionist — but it is our job to show dreams beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.

[ ☆ ]

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[yanderes-galore]

How would Vanny react to her darling escaping from her? I was thinking of a short where darling escapes her in the Pizzaplex and so a twisted hide and seek "game" starts. Also thought of the title "run rabbit run" but up to you if it fits what you write, panther!

Sounds lovely! I've been constantly returning to this and hating what my draft is so I hope I got something good down this time. I altered the original request it bit but it still keeps the whole "hide & seek" format

Run Rabbit Run

Yandere! Vanny Short

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Yandere-like behavior, Sadism, Implied kidnapping, Forced relationship, Darling's fate is open ended.

Your head throbbed painfully when you woke up. In fact, the lights around you temporarily blinded you when you opened your eyes. With a pained hiss you managed to sit yourself up.

Once your vision clears you see you're in the 'Lost and Found' room at the Pizzaplex. You vaguely remembered coming in for your night shift job at the large mall until you woke up here. For the life of you, you couldn't remember what happened after that.

Making your heart jump, the small TV screen on the desk sparks to life with static. You're surprised it could even do that. You felt unease when you watched the screen, eyes narrowing.

Through the static you could see someone in a rabbit costume. Red eyes stared back at you lifelessly, a distorted giggle heard through the speakers.

"I was wondering when you'd wake, dear! I wanted to play with my lovely bunny at some point~!"

You frown at the screen and back off. What was with all these pet names? What did she mean by play?

"You can't hear me, can you...?"

"Oh, I can! Why else would I talk to you if it's one-sided?"

"Why am I here, then?"

"Why? You're here because I want to play! You're someone I like, y'know?"

"Someone you like? We've never even met!"

"But we have! You'll figure it out at some point, I promise. Now, why don't I explain the game...."

You had met this rabbit before...? When? At work? In the street? You combed your mind for ideas of who it could be. They did sound familiar, feminine even....

"Bunny! No need to think that hard, you'll have time. I can't have you spacing out during the rules!"

Begrudgingly you put your attention towards the screen again.

"Yes?"

"We'll be playing a game of chase! You have the option to hide, but I'll find you at some point~! If you escape the Pizzaplex, then you can leave! If you don't..."

The rabbit pauses, chuckling.

"Then I get to keep you!"

You feel your heart stop for a moment, fear covering your face.

"Your fear is adorable, dear.... Well, let's get started. The door is unlocked, go on, I'll be waiting!"

You approach the door cautiously, checking to see if she was telling the truth. Once you find the door clicks open with ease, you're out.

Then the games begin.

----

It's felt like hours since you began the rabbit's sick game. You've only seen her a few times throughout the Pizzaplex while you try to find an exit that isn't locked. She seems to be dragging this out.

You were getting tired of all the hiding and running... but you had no choice. You couldn't find a phone, exits were blocked, you weren't sure what to do.

With a small yet distressed sigh you hide yourself away to take a breather. The only other option was waiting until opening time.

But you doubted you could last that long.

The rabbit most likely knew that, too.

"I can hear your breathing, my dear~"

You stop your breathing, shooting up to look around. She was close by... you were getting too tired to run.

"Are you exhausted yet, bunny? You can only play so long... why not rest after I find you? I promise not to hurt you too bad!"

You try to stay as quiet as you can but you felt she was right beside you. This was the end.

You weren't getting out of this.

"There you are, my sweet bunny! I knew I'd find you somewhere around here~!"